Founded on February 14,1957 by Martin Luther King,
Jr. and a host of other ministers, this group sought to attack inequality and
injustice with the use of nonviolent direct action. While it did not pioneer this
tactic, SCLC successfully used this method to desegregate lunch counters, swimming
pools, libraries, theaters, and a host of other public accommodations. With MLK
as its president, the SCLC succeeded in raising enough money to keep the Civil
Rights Movement under the watchful eye of the American media for many years. Despite
these efforts, after King began to oppose openly the Vietnam War, the organization's
coffers began to dwindle and as a result, the movement entered a decline from
which it never recovered.